[He's never told Hiro these parts of his story. Even though he's over enough of the hurt they cause to talk about them, they still shame him. This time, however, they don't. For once, they come in handy.]

Once, I made someone promise to bring Bianca back safely from the quest. Stupid and impossible to keep, I know, but I blamed him for her death and for breaking his promise to me. Another time, King Minos' ghost promised to help me get my sister back by exchanging her soul for another person's, but he was only interested in getting revenge on the man who'd cheated death.

[Nico leans forward slightly, dark eyes trained on Hiro's.]

If my friend hadn't chased me down, I never would've been able to talk to my sister's ghost and forgive him. I would've fallen into the trap of my fatal flaw without caring about the consequences if he hadn't gone after me.

[He pauses for a moment. Honestly, Nico thinks he's still in that trap of holding a grudge, but one that's against himself. Either way, the thought has no place here, so he discards it for the moment.]

Forgiveness is hard to get, and from what I understand, you've both said harmful things to each other. But that's not important. Not really. What's important is being sincere in your apology and not expecting to get forgiveness. You need to offer the olive branch first, without any accusations on what he's done or trying to outsmart him, and don't expect an apology in return, either. He might not apologize right away. I sure as Styx didn't apologize right away to my friend for being a brat to him.

[His tone is calm and a little gentle.]

Athena and Hephaestus might be proud of you, Hiro, but Hera and Aphrodite would expect better.